Keyon Dooling: ‘We have hearts of champions’

Why? Because it was the first time he cried since his father passed away in 2009. He admitted as much after the 101-88 loss to the Heat that ended the Celtics season one win away from the NBA finals.

Dooling, who wears a floral lapel pin in honor of his late father, revealed just how much Saturday’s loss hurt the Celtics as a team.

“My father passed away three years ago and I haven’t cried since my father passed away until tonight,” Dooling said. “This bunch of guys, it was a like a senior year of high school. It was a memorable, lifelong friendships, a lot of great moments. This team was very unique. We love each other, we care for each other and though we aren’t champions this year, we have hearts of champions, and that will always keep us connected.”

LeBron James has been one of the most scrutinized and criticized superstars in any sport over the last six years. But on Saturday night, in the moments after he scored 31 points and lifted his Heat team to a 101-88 win over the Celtics in Game 7, he was showered with praise by one of those who tried to slow him down.

“I’ve never bought into this whole persona that LeBron isn’t the guy,” Dooling said. “I think everybody should relax a little bit. He’s great for our game, he is our game. We need to uplift him instead of tear him down. He’s a guy who’s the most unselfish superstar I’ve ever seen. He rebounds the ball, he assists the ball, he’s empowered his friends from his community. He does a lot of charity work in the community. He’s a model citizen. He should not have a stain on his reputation and I hope it stops.”

Dooling was part of a Celtics bench that could only muster two points and was outscored by Miami’s new bench weapon, Chris Bosh, 19-2. Dooling said the Celtics weren’t tired in the fourth quarter as they were outscored, 28-15. It was just a matter of the Heat’s execution.

“It wasn’t about gas,” Dooling said. “They just did a great job of defending. They’re a great team. You have to give them credit. We fought, we hung around, we were there. We had some good shots at the end. We just couldn’t make plays. They did a phenomenal job. They made all the plays, they shared the ball. They executed down the stretch. They got some interior baskets as well. They did a phenomenal job. Tip your hat to them.”